As a school teacher, I had to pull information from students with leading questions and prompts. As a traveller wishing to take advantage of your friends’ first hand experiences, you have to pull the true meaning from their statements. You’ll love, you’ll hate or any opinions in between are those of your friends and won’t necessarily be parallel with your own wants in a vacation.

Travellers today have information overload. Too many choices and opinions can be confusing especially when contradictions cloud the process. Some of the worst problems can come from listening to your friends advice. It may be genuinely well intentioned but…

My in laws had close friends (veteran visitors to Florida) who insisted they could have a wonderful shared vacations. A hellish two week bus tour ensued. The experienced couple just pulled out a deck of card and insisted on 4 handed whatever every time the bus stopped. They wanted to go nowhere because they had already been and it’s “not that great anyway”. A friendship was lost as well as the vacation.

Quotes that can be very opinionated and biased:

• I hated the room
• There’s nothing to do there
• It’s too expensive
• What a cheap trip
• My wife like it but I hated it
• Don’t worry about pre-booking
• Booze when ever you want it
• Lots of things for the kids to do
• Everything is old and tired looking
• A place for an active vacation or a nightlife

Each person has definite ideas about what they like about destinations or travel.

A Thought
Most people brag about bargains and exaggerate, just like in advertising. You may wonder how their $99 bargain flight is costing you $624! Exaggerating the deal, to make themselves feel better may be misleading. Is it per person, for two, return including taxes? It makes a difference in your perception not necessarily your friend’s deception

Just as a counter point for some of the vague statement above:

• wide variety of rooms, rooms change over time, amenities and exclusions come and go, any accommodation has some advantage to it
• friends mean well, but nothing at all in a city of a million – dig deeper
• What is your definition of expensive?
• Your friends are not going to brag about over spending.
  • Is the cheapest what you really want?
  • What is a reasonable price?
• Compromise – what is a great vacation combination?
• What is your adventure level
  • Hardly ever use public transportation at home – don’t try and adapt to it in a strange land
  • If you are a careful, safety first type with routines galore then pre-book and know what you are getting
  • Adventuresome, hiker, biker, then go for it
  • Are you travelling with kids or elderly?
• Liquid refreshments are a matter of taste and tolerance – be wise, be careful
• Vacationing with different aged children will always be a challenge
• Maybe you like old and tired – relics and antiquities can be an important vacation consideration
• I wanted a place for sitting on the beach and drinking at the beach bar.

Be sure to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges. Take what your friends say with a grain of salt and ask for details as to why, how, when, what, who to support their feelings.

Don’t dismiss all of your fiends advice and rely completely a trusted travel agent. Don’t get overwhelmed in the process of enjoying a vacation. The best choice is simple, what feels right to you. You won’t be inclined to feel buyer’s remorse about your vacation if you stay true to your principles and desires.

If your choice is not what your friend recommended from their point of view, that’s fine. Tell them maybe they should make a different choice next time.

Canadians Must Have Medical Insurance When Travelling to Cuba

Here is a summary of the new, as of May 1, 2010 requirements for Canadian travellers heading into and out of Cuba. Basically you must have medical insurance to get in and all medical bills must be paid before you are allowed to leave Cuba.

• Travellers must present proof of health insurance in order to enter the country
• Upon arrival, an insurance policy, insurance certificate, or medical assistance card must be presented
• No proof of insurance means you must obtain health insurance from a Cuban insurance company at the airport
• Temporary residents also have to hold valid health insurance policies
• Proof of Canadian provincial health insurance is sufficient to enter Cuba
  • Your provincial plan:
    • may cover only part of the costs Health Insurance
    • will not pay the bill up-front
    • Do not rely on your provincial health plan to cover all expenses, it may cover nothing or only a portion of the costs
• some private insurers also require the traveller to pay costs up-front and be reimbursed later
• Cuban authorities will not allow anyone with outstanding medical bills to leave the country
• All health insurance policies are recognized, except those issued by U.S. insurance companies
• Some credit cards offer health and travel insurance
  • Do not assume the card alone provides adequate coverage

Additional tips

• Carry details of your insurance
• Tell your travel agent, a friend or relative, and/or travelling companion how to contact your insurer
• Get a detailed invoice from the doctor or hospital before you return to Canada
• Submit original receipts for any medical services or prescriptions received, most insurance companies will not accept copies or faxes.
• Cancelling a scheduled trip abroad could cost you money. The decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the traveller. Consult with your insurance carrier and your travel agent to eliminate or minimize losses.

Supplementary travel insurance to top up provincial plans or credit card insurance coverage is always a good idea. Travel insurance policies cover much more than health risks, but the small investment in coverage may make a huge difference in your liability for personal injury. Usually the travel insurance provider, like RBC, will pay all covered risks up front and then sort out the province or credit card coverage for you.

Peace of mind when you travel… Don’t leave home without it.

Sources:

• Canadian Government
• Country Facts and Cultural Information – Cuba

Related articles by Zemanta

• Cuba visitors face new medical insurance rule (cbc.ca)
• Travelling to Cuba: Medical Insurance is a Must (newswire.ca)
• Travel insurance warning for Cuba visitors (guardian.co.uk)
• Travel insurance 101 (cnn.com)
• Cuba to force tourists to buy medical insurance (thestar.com)

There is an interesting article and subsequent comments in USA Today concerning a group of cruise passengers that could not make their cruise and they wanted a refund from the cruise company. I have found that cruise companies are the brunt of many complaints just because of the nature of their business.

• Passengers have to get to the ports on time.
  • It costs many thousands of dollars for each port delay. Ships can’t wait for the late vacationers.
  • Get travel insurance to cover this situation, especially since most Ontarians have to fly to a foreign port to cruise.
  • Allow for a day or two pre cruise time to work around weather delays etc.
• When accident or illness happens at sea, expenses can rise very fast.
  • Helicopter medical evacuations can quickly cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
  • Get travel insurance.
  • The cruise line will make arrangements for medical assistance but the traveller has to pay.

The main thrust of the discussions following the article revolved around the cost of the cancelled trip and who would cover that loss. Some said the cruise company (Carnival) should. It’s good P.R. The terms are stated clearly and favour the cruise line. No refund. Get insurance for your travels. See my contribution to the debate below.

Most comments were sympathetic towards the families plight. Some thought it was foolish not to have taken the insurance. Insurance is a cost of doing business and of just living in a modern society. It should be considered a cost of vacationing too.

Here are few reader comments in brief from the original article:

• Buy travel insurance for your cruise
• Don’t put faith in verbal
• Consider spending a little time in the departure port before your cruise
• Everyone hates paying for insurance until the day you realize you need it
• The client made an informed decision to risk losing money
• Why should I pay because you gambled and lost?
• Travel insurance is not just for cruises
• It’s not the cruise line are cold hearted. It’s just… here it comes… wait for it… Business.
• You do know that all the cruise lines would most likely have done the same as Carnival did, don’t you?
• I think it’s totally OUTRAGEOUS for Carnival to have denied THIS particular claim
• What is outrageous is that they did NOT purchase the insurance but wanted Carnival to give them the same benefit as if they had.

My comment:

I think people can still legally drive in some regions without insurance. In some areas of the world riding a motorcycle without the insurance of a helmet is legal. Insurance insures against the unexpected. If you only used a helmet when you expected to have your head smashed into a curb through no fault of your own, which occasion would you choose?

Most people recognize the value of insurance in most life situations. How many businesses are incorporated to protect personal possessions? Most insurance is third party and it costs many people a lot of premiums to protect the inevitable from happening to a few. If Carnival or any other cruise company offered insurance as part of the price they would be using a third party and everyone’s ticket costs would go up accordingly.

Insurance is optional. If you want to save a few bucks don’t get it, but don’t whine about a catastrophe happening to you. Most people can suffer the loss of a vacation and it’s costs. If money is so tight consider going on a picnic to celebrate. Don’t forget to use your seat belts.

Can you afford the cost of repatriating an injured party member plus possibly thousands of dollars in foreign medical services until well enough to travel? Heaven forbid that an air ambulance may be involved.

When you think of insurance you tend to think of saving dollars for premiums, but you should think big. Think of the worst case scenarios and those minuscule premiums become good investments.

Incidentally, Ontario law requires that all travel agents offer, explain and advise all travellers about travel insurance. It is an optional cost and can be refused. Most agents have a standard refusal form that indicates insurance was offered and turned down.

Feel free to wade into the insurance debate.

It’s not quite as dreadful as talking about death or taxes but insurance opinions are right up there near the top of the 10 foot pole.

Source article: USA Today

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There are a few points in my vacation travels that really get me wanting to quit the parade and go home. Boarding the aircraft to anywhere has got to be one of the top annoyances for me and I suspect for a great many other travellers, based on the facial expressions or lack there of.

The routine usually is to board the passengers in need of assistance or extra time first. The family with the kids in strollers and the disabled should get priority. Then it’s first class if it exists on you plane. Well they pay the premium and should get some perks other than glass and china. I have been among the first class and the disabled groups and it is awkward looking back at the distraught ordinary passenger group. It’s especially embarrassing if you don’t look handicapped, like queue jumping at the grocery store.

Back on topic. The rich and those needing assistance should go first. After that, it’s a free for all mad dash as the rows are called for the regular herd. It’s like the plane will leave before you get seated if you don’t crowd the traveller in from of you all the way. Oh and don’t forget to look annoyed and put out over the whole experience as you stop numerous points to allow carryons to be hoisted into position and adjusted to fit snugly and safely.

The carryon is becoming a great point of controversy. With “charges for checked” being plucked from your pocket book, the carryons have multiplied and gotten bloated which antagonizes to problem of squeezing down the isles to your seat. especially when you are travelling light or even empty handed.

Virgin is now allowing the passengers with no carryons or very small ones to board before the horde. It’s simple and makes sense. Passengers find their seats and are out of the traffic lanes when the hard core packers are turned loose. Of course it all falls apart when the no carryons in an isle seat has to get up and out to allow the heavy packer to settle into the middle or window seat. But that happens with the carryon people too.

Boarding is not an easy time for any vacationer, but it just got a little bit better for some and hopefully easier and faster for all.

Virgin America’s latest – a new boarding procedure that might actually make sense
The boarding process is no one’s favorite part of a trip. First there’s the tension of “will we actually start boarding or will there be a problem?” Then there’s the crush of people who always jam the gate area, regardless of their boarding priority.

Read More from J. Hough here

This article from the Canadian Government web site is worth the read. It was too important to just summarize. Here is the entire article.

Common types of scams

Although most Canadians are now aware of fraud attempts carried out by companies or individuals in foreign countries, especially in Africa, many Canadians are still victimized and cheated out of merchandise, services and money. Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, Guinea and Senegal are some of the countries where fraud is a popular and lucrative activity.

Certain types of commercial or professional scams have become very common, including:

• Emails in which a foreign company requires fees or merchandise in order to honour a contract with its government.
• Emails and calls offering to purchase merchandise such as crude oil or precious stones, and making business proposals on the condition that you travel to the country in question.
• Announcements offering to purchase exotic or domestic animals from foreign countries, with advance payment required.
• Emails promising to help secure a visa or guaranteeing a job abroad.
• Emails or calls offering to make a charitable donation to an organization, by asking for information on which bank account to use.
• Loan offers from shadow banks in foreign countries, in which personal information is required in order to open an account.
• Vacation home rental offers from fake agencies using false addresses and altered photos of the home to be rented.

Other types of personal scams are reported, including:

• Emails from fictitious foreign organizations promising an inheritance, prize or money won, and asking for payment for mailing costs or taxes.
• Emails promising financial compensation, in exchange for wiring money through a personal bank account.
• Calls where a con artist poses as a foreign doctor or healthcare professional and contacts the family and friends of a Canadian traveller, informing them that the traveller is in the hospital and that money is required for medical treatment.
• Falsified emails in which a con artist poses as a Canadian known by the target who is stuck in a foreign country after being the victim of theft, an accident or kidnapping, and claiming he needs money to pay for hotel or hospital bills, visas and/or airplane tickets.
• False Internet friendships in which a con artist claims to want to come to Canada and asks for financial assistance or help obtaining an entry visa.
• Marriage schemes as a result of Internet-based relationships. Thesecases may involve the victim being extorted by the in-laws living abroad, or being forced to sponsor a spouse who will abandon the victim upon arrival in Canada. These types of situations are especially common in Morocco, Algeria, Guinea and Senegal.
• Letters or announcements advertising the private adoption of a child. A foreign con artist poses as the mother of a child or as a lawyer in charge of finding an adoptive family, and describes a difficult situation, often providing fake photos of a child.
• Letters addressed to former victims of fraud from fictitious organizations that claim to have successfully caught the con artists, and promising compensation for losses incurred the first time.
• Death notices sent to the loved ones of a Canadian traveller by a fictitious foreign funeral home, asking them to send money to repatriate the body to Canada. Counterfeit pieces of identification are often used.

Not only can scams cause considerable financial losses, but many of them can also represent a serious threat to the personal safety of the victims. Many victims are convinced to travel to an African country to complete a business transaction, accept a job, get married or to try to recover money sent to the con artist. Some cases have resulted in violent situations, including kidnappings and forced imprisonment. Canadian consular officials are often limited in the assistance they can provide to the victims.

Warning: increasingly common and sophisticated scams

Every day, new cases are reported in which Canadians have requested consular assistance after having their safety compromised by a scam, and it is predicted that the number of victims will continue to rise. In many countries, con artists operate without consequences, because local authorities often do not have the physical or financial resources needed to combat Internet crimes.

Organized fraud networks are developing more and more innovative and sophisticated approaches to deceive their victims and to extort money, in both small and large amounts. The criminals conduct extensive searches to create credible documents: completeprofiles of fictitious businesses, medical reports, falsified export certificates, etc. The names and logos of reputable organizations, governments and government agencies are often used fraudulently. Websites that appear very authentic are also falsified.

How can you protect yourself?

Any unsolicited business proposal should be carefully examined before you send any money, provide a service or merchandise, or make travel arrangements.

• Verify your solicitor’s identity.
• Before completing a transaction, verify the authenticity of the proposed method of payment or demand full payment in advance.
• Be cautious of requests for signed and stamped blank letterhead or invoices.
• Be cautious of solicitors claiming that your name was provided by someone you do not know.
• Be cautious of professional messages written with poor grammar or written with an inappropriate level of language. The country’s official language should normally be used.
• Be cautious of job offers for which the conditions seem too good to be true (unrealistic salary, paid vacations, extended holidays) or job offers that require you to pay for initial travel or required documents.
• Never disclose banking information, even if the solicitor claims to need the information to deposit a signing bonus.
• Verify entry requirements (visas) and government immigration policies in the country you plan on visiting for business. No outside organization or agency should be involved in issuing travel documents. Letters addressed to immigration officers are not valid.

Exercise caution when travelling to meet individuals met on the Internet.

• Verify the identity of the person you plan on meeting abroad.
• Keep in mind that for a foreign spouse, marrying a Canadian citizen can represent a way to obtain an immigration visa. A number of Canadians have left their jobs and their homes, and have sold all of their belongings for a marriage abroad that ended up failing or that never took place.
• Find out in advance about the laws and customs regarding relationships and marriage in the destination country. 
• Travel to the destination country with a return ticket and enough money to stay in a hotel,and keep all of your travel documents in a safe location. Keep contact information for the nearest Canadian government office abroad, in case a problem arises.

It is strongly recommended that you stay informed of current types of scams by conducting regular Internet searches.

How can you get help?

Do not hesitate to contact the nearest Canadian government office abroad or to telephone our Emergency Operations Centre at 613‑996‑8885 (collect calls are possible from certain countries) if:

• You need assistance abroad after a fraud attempt.
• You need help to return to Canada.
• You feel you will be unfairly treated under a country’s laws.
• You have doubts about the legitimacy of request for assistance from someone you know who is allegedly experiencing difficulties abroad.

The Government of Canada cannot intervene in private legal affairs, and has no influence over another country’s legal proceedings. However, officials from the nearest Canadian government office abroad can provide you with a list of lawyers in the country in question. For more information on the services offered by Canadian consular officials, visit our About us page.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s anti-fraud call centre PhoneBusters can also provide information to help you.

Read the original article here.